SIBO/IBS Testing and Treatment
The Connection between the Brain and the Gut
There is a strong connection between the gut and the brain. Indeed, this connection has been called the gut-brain axis. The enteric nervous system, which belongs to the gut, is known as the second brain and it is constantly sending electrical impulses to the brain and vice versa, via the vagus nerve. When you are nervous, anxious and depressed, or even excited, often you feel the sensation in your gut first e.g. butterfly sensations in your stomach or diarrhoea before a major event. Furthermore, you might be surprised to know that 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive tract. Certain bacteria in the gut are important for the production of this type of serotonin, and altered levels have been linked to diseases such as SIBO, irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis.
Serotonin affects many aspects of your gut function, including:
- the speed at which food moves through your system (motility), known as the transit time
- the amount of fluid, such as mucus, which is secreted in your intestines
- the sensitivity of your intestines to sensations like pain and fullness from eating.
Some nerve receptors are responsible for sending messages to your brain that signal pain, bloating and nausea. Others affect how you experience distention or full intestines.
Levels of each of these receptors vary from individual to individual e.g. your stomach may interpret a feeling of fullness as pain, while others perceive it as a normal feeling.
Low serotonin levels are often seen in people with IBS who suffer from constipation. This has been attributed to less reactivity of the muscles in their rectums and are thus more likely to have hard or lumpy stools.
Alternatively, those with IBS and high levels of serotonin often experience diarrhoea, as their rectums are more reactive, resulting in loose or watery stools.
Furthermore, the stress messages coming from the brain can also play a major part in these conditions, as the “fight or flight” (sympathetic) Nervous system inhibits gut function and the secretion of gastric secretions. This then has a flow-on effect in reducing the bactericidal properties of gastric acid, bile and pancreatic enzymes, resulting in an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, colon or both. Additionally, the conditions are stressful in their own right, exacerbating the slow motility and overgrowth.
So, while IBS and SIBO have treatment that is targeted to the gastrointestinal tract, it would be remiss of any practitioner to not deal with brain health at the same time.
SIBO, IBS. Gall Bladder issues and Other Gut-Associated Disorders
Are you frustrated because your gut condition is not taken seriously? Do you think you could have SIBO but are unsure how to verify the diagnosis and how to treat it? Do you want to reclaim your life?
Do you get symptoms after a high fat meal, have light coloured stools, and/or have you had gall bladder issues? Many practitioners fail to understand that the bile, or lack of it, can be central to many of these gut conditions.
I deal with all gut complaints, and are one of the few select practitioners that are approved by the SIBO Doctor and SIBO Test. I am also a qualified and experienced microbiologist and trained biochemist, and am therefore in a strong position to understand what is going on with your gut, uncover the underlying causes, and how you can go about reversing your symptoms.
Don’t suffer any longer!
For more information, click on the following links. Some of the information is from an excerpt from Sibotest.com: Retrieved at https://sibotest.com/pages/what-is-sibo is SIBO?
